Top 10 tips for using Evernote Business

You might have downloaded the software but do you know the best way to use it? Here’s a guide to using Evernote in your business.

Did you ever wish you had a second brain… or at least a good way to improve the first one? At one point or another, almost all of us have wished for exactly that, and that is why Evernote was built. But with increased pressures in the workplace, no matter if you own your business or work for a company, better memory isn’t just an advantage, it is a necessity.

That is part of why we created Evernote Business. It acts as an extension of your brain, so you can work however you like, and you can still find and retrieve what you need in a natural and easy way. Even better, it lets you easily find and share content, so you always know what your team knows, making you and your co-workers, smarter and more efficient.

But once you have Evernote Business, how do you get the most out of it so you can get everything done and still make the happy hour so you can impress all of your friends with your success and “have it all” lifestyle? Here are some tips from us, and our best users.

1. Keep regularly used and requested information in the Business Library Tired of getting the same questions over and over again? By storing key items like logos, holiday schedules, contract templates, and the latest office football pool results in the Business Library you avoid having to send information over and over again.

2. Share a notebook, not an email Have you ever had the reply string on an email reach more than 50 replies? It becomes impossible to follow. Share a key thought in a notebook instead, and let others comment on it there. It lightens email traffic and keeps all the team’s ideas in one place.

3. Don’t get hung up on structure Past systems have taught us to create folders and notebooks for each individual thing, but our brain doesn’t have separate folders. Use a few broad-category notebooks and then use search and tags to designate projects or find documents. If you worry too much about structure, you won’t ever use the system.

4. Use notebooks to work with vendors and consultants Rather than emailing documents back and forth, create a shared notebook for each vendor you work with. Documents and ideas can be organised and shared in there. That way you never lose anything, and you don’t have to remember to add things to the system, they are already there.

5. Email your memory Did you know that Evernote assigns a unique email address to every user? Add it to your address book, and then forward any important emails to that address. It will add that email (and any attachments) to your Evernote account, and then you can include it with the rest of the project documents, making it forever searchable.

6. Mix business and pleasure Few people have the luxury of keeping work out of life and vice versa. Use Evernote to track both personal projects and professional ones in the same interface, much more efficiently. And don’t worry, we know how to keep them separate and won’t share your son’s birthday party plans with your colleagues.

7. Can’t type? You can talk instead Sometimes you don’t have enough time to type something in, or your hands are just plain busy. Use voice notes to capture that idea fast, then you can share it with a colleague and come back to it later.

8. Collect reading materials for later We all want to read more to stay up to date. Create a notebook for items to read later, and use Clearly and the Web Clipper from your desktop to file interesting articles away to read later.

9. Banish the business card pile Use Evernote Hello to take a picture of someone’s business card when you meet him or her. It pulls out the name, email and phone number, and connects the email to LinkedIn so you can get a picture of the person you just met. It will even automatically show where you met them, and let you enter notes about what you talked about.

10. Plant a tree! With all the paper you will save, you will have time to give back to mother nature.

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Dynamic Business is Australia’s best-loved small business resource dedicated to providing entrepreneurs, start-ups and business owners with the very latest information and advice on how to start, manage and grow a business.

Published as a hard copy magazine from 1995-2012, and as a website since 2002, Dynamic Business has proven itself to be Australia’s most respected small business news source.